Emmy Awards 2011: Who will win?

It's been two months since the Emmy nominations were first announced, and this Sunday night we'll finally discover who's scooped an award and who's going home empty-handed. Glee's Jane Lynch will be hosting the ceremony and may even be joined on stage by her co-stars for a musical number.

With Bryan Cranston (temporarily) out of the picture, who will be named 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series'? Will Modern Family top the comedy category again, or could Steve Carell's exit give The Office the advantage? In our feature below, we take a look at the major Emmy categories and name our picks for this year's winners.

Outstanding Comedy Series

Nominated:Glee (Fox), Parks and Recreation (NBC), The Office (NBC), Modern Family (ABC), 30 Rock (NBC), The Big Bang Theory (CBS)And the winner is... Much as we'd love to see Parks and Recreation get some Emmy love, it seems likely that Modern Family will triumph for a second year running. It's never wise to entirely rule out the powerhouse that is Glee of course, but the show's second season divided critics, which could count against it.

Outstanding Drama SeriesNominated:Boardwalk Empire (HBO), The Good Wife (CBS), Mad Men (AMC), Friday Night Lights (DirecTV), Dexter (Showtime), Game of Thrones (HBO)And the winner is... We'd be shocked if anything but Mad Men triumphed in this category. Friday Night Lights had a strong final season, but the show has traditionally suffered from awards neglect, while a win for Game of Thrones would be glorious but a major upset. An uneven fifth season should rule out a Dexter victory, while a Good Wife win would be another upset (though a welcome one).

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Nominated: Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Steve Carell (The Office), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) Louis CK (Louie), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)And the winner is... Steve Carell turned in a solid performance in his final season of The Office and seems a likely contender to scoop this award, if only for sentimental reasons. That said, the Big Bang boys could give him a run for his money, while we're sad to say that the likes of Louis CK and Matt LeBlanc are probably long-shots.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesNominated: Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Michael C Hall (Dexter), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Laurie (House), Timothy Olyphant (Justified)And the winner is... Any one of these actors would be a deserving winner, but with Bryan Cranston stepping aside, we've got our money on Jon Hamm. With 'The Suitcase' as his submitted episode, this one's pretty much in the bag and quite right too - it's about time the Mad Men star received some Emmy recognition for his nuanced performance. It'll be a shame to see the likes of Olyphant and Chandler overlooked, but there can only be one winner.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama SeriesNominated: Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Mireille Enos (The Killing), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Kathy Bates (Harry's Law)And the winner is... Another tricky one. Mariska Hargitay has long been a favourite of the Academy, while Mireille Enos made an excellent debut on The Killing and Connie Britton saw off Friday Night Lights in style. But we reckon this category belongs to two contenders - Elisabeth Moss and Julianna Margulies. If pushed, we'll plump for Moss - Mad Men is the critics' favourite, after all.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Nominated: Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), Chris Colfer (Glee), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Ed O'Neill (Modern Family), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family), Ty Burrell (Modern Family)And the winner is... With Modern Family utterly dominating this category, there's a strong chance that one of the men from the hit ABC sitcom will emerge triumphant. But who is most deserving? Personally, we'd pick Ty Burrell, but last year's victor Eric Stonestreet is also a strong possibility.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesNominated: John Slattery (Mad Men), Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age), Walton Goggins (Justified), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Josh Charles (The Good Wife), Alan Cumming (The Good Wife)And the winner is... An incredibly strong category, with all six of these actors consistently delivering solid performances. It's a crime that Walton Goggins was never Emmy-nominated for his work on The Shield and we'd love to see him win this year, while Peter Dinklage would also be thoroughly deserving. The Good Wife boys are also in with a chance, but we think Slattery could emerge as the surprise winner on Sunday. Do not underestimate the power of Mad Men.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Nominated: Jane Lynch (Glee), Betty White (Hot In Cleveland), Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)And the winner is... Given the recent success of Bridesmaids at the multiplexes, it seems timely for Kristen Wiig to win an Emmy for her SNL work. Last year's winner (and this year's host) Jane Lynch could be in with a chance, but Glee's Sue Sylvester was somewhat neglected this year. We're going to go out on a limb and rule out the Modern Family girls this year. Also, we'd love to see Betty White win an Emmy. Just because.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesNominated: Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Michelle Forbes (The Killing), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife), Margo Martindale (Justified), Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)And the winner is... Our prediction (and our hope) is that veteran character actress Margo Martindale will be recognised for her fantastic performance in the second season of Justified, but there's always the chance that Archie Panjabi could win two years running. We'd place Christine Baranski and Christina Hendricks in the 'long shot' category, but Kelly McDonald's also a solid contender and Michelle Forbes could be recognised for her emotive work on The Killing.

The Emmy Awards 2011 will air live from Los Angeles on September 18 on Fox.

Who do you think will win an Emmy this year? Share your thoughts below!